


I need you to stay

by CutesyMe



Series: I need you [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, I don't know what I'm doing, Lashton - Freeform, M/M, Pining, Somewhat, a lot of it, busniess!Michael, malum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 14:23:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3981376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CutesyMe/pseuds/CutesyMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Apparently his parents have found a ‘perfect’ boy for him now, and apparently they expected him to woo this boy, win his heart over and marry him. Whether he liked him or not. How was that possible? It was the fucking 21st century and he was living in a country where he had rights. How can his parents arrange a marriage for him? This wasn’t Pakistan or India. He couldn’t believe that was happening, especially right after he met that cute red haired guy, and had lost him instantly but that wasn’t the point.</p>
<p>(Or the one where Calum runs away with a boy he is actually running away from)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I need you to stay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LyricalPary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalPary/gifts), [kittenmichael](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittenmichael/gifts).



> So I decided I have for long enough read lashton and malum and decided to finally write something. We should all thanks LyricalPary , who loves to talk about business!Michael on tumblr. And thanks also to kittenmichael , who was a great motivation for me to write this.
> 
> I know it's long, but bear with me.
> 
> Hope you like it!!!

It didn’t happen often for a boy, who is slightly taller than you, to hide behind you and hiss at you to stay still, but this was exactly what was happening to Calum right now. He was peacefully standing in front of a information board at his uni, looking through the lines of the next music competition, when suddenly he was yanked back by his backpack, that was slung over both of his shoulders, and was kept in place by two firm grips on his arms.

Of course he was confused and the “What the fuck?” was a legit slip up. The person hiding behind him hissed at him to stay still and slowly pulled him back until they rounded the corner, into the buliding where they were hidden from everyones gazes. That was it for Calum.

He turned around forcefully but before he could say anything, he was pushed against the wall without getting hurt, a hand covered his mouth while the boy in front of him had one of his index fingers on his lips and was making a shushing sound. Surprisingly, Calum did stay quiet and while the boy in front of him looked around as if he was searching for something or someone, he took his time to inspect him. Calum was almost on eye level with him, the other boy only being taller by an inch maybe and oh, he had red hair, obviously dyed but still beautiful.

“Please just stay quiet for a little while,” the boy begged and looked directly into Calum’s eyes.

Calum tried, he really tried to decipher the boy’s eye colour but it was impossible in the shadows of the corridor of the huge building. Instead he looked at the boys hand which was on his mouth, who immediately retracted it.

“I just need your help with this and then I’m out of your life,” the red haired spoke up again in a hushed tone.

“And what would that be?” Calum asked, and to be honest, he actually wanted to tell the guy to get help somewhere else and that he would never help him after what just had happened.

A smile appears on the red haired’s face and he fists the air in victory. “Thank you. I just need to get to my car in front of the uni without getting seen by him,” the red haired explained and pointed at someone.

Calum looked around and at first couldn’t make out anyone rather than students from his uni, but on a closer look he made out the man, who was in his fifties and who was obviously in search for someone. He definitely was neither a student nor a professor. His clothing style was that of an average citizen but Calum knew that was only a facade he was keeping up so he wouldn’t get recognized by the people he was following.

“Why? What did you do?” Calum asked suspiciously.

“Nothing. I just want to be able to go wherever I want without my parent’s people following me.”

Even though it was weird to hear, Calum knew how that felt and decided to help this guy. And maybe he could ask for his number because that definitely would be a good deal. The problem in this situation was that they had to walk past the man. The building Calum and the red haired were hiding in wasn’t connected to the main building and it had only one door, the one on the back only being for emergencies.

“Okay. Lets go,” Calum announced and even though it wasn’t necessary, he intertwined his fingers with boy’s and decided to walk by the trees. Not only would the trees give him some hideout but also the groups of people around them.

The boy didn’t seem to mind Calum’s hand in his own and followed Calum quietly. The man was turning around, frantically in search for the red haired. Walking by some students, at some points Calum even had to pretend he was belonging to a group of people he didn’t know anyone of while red haired was hiding behind him. It was hard to get away since there weren’t that many students there to begin with and because red hair does get noticed in all crowds. In addition to that the man was getting dangerously close to them. To his luck Calum saw his best friend Luke leaning against a tree, textbook in is hand and called him over while the red haired was hiding behind a tree next to Calum. Luke eyed the red haired as if he was crazy but didn’t pay any more attention to him when he reached them.

“You see that man there?” Calum asked while pointing at the man, to which Luke nodded after a look. “Distract him. Get us as much time as you can and I’ll explain later.”

Calum could see the hesitation in Luke’s eyes but he had experienced so many quirks of Calum’s parents that he just agreed and made his way over to the man, successfully luring him inside the building. After that Calum and the red haired made a run for it and only stopped when they were in front of the red haired’s car.

“Thank you so much,” panted the red haired and engulfed Calum in a hug. Calum was surprised by it but didn’t mind as he muttered a response. The red haired opened the car door and took a seat, only to get interrupted by Calum.

“Hey, can I get your phone number?” he asked and the red haired grinned. He took out a pen and scribbled his number on Calum’s palm while he was holding it in his other hand, Calum’s heart fluttering from the touch. With a last look and a wink towards Calum, the red haired started the engine and drove away.

Smiling at his palm, Calum went back to find Luke and to thank him. He now had the number of a cute guy and was asked to play football with some of his friends while Luke chose to watch. Playing football on a day on which it was agonizingly hot wasn’t something the blonde was too fond of, but none of that stopped Calum from playing the sport he loved.

It wasn’t until later on when Calum went back home all sweaty and worn out and took a shower that he saw something on hus hand. His heart skipped a beat when he remembered that the red haired had written his number on there and he tried to decipher the numbers. It was too late, the numbers too faded out to be recognized.

Calum pressed a pillow to his face and screamed into it. He couldn’t believe he was that dumb to loose a number. He darned himself for not saving the number in his phone. There was a knock on the door and not even seconds later his older sister Mali Koa slipped her head through the door.

“What’s up lil bro?” she asked and entered the room, sitting next to Calum on his bed, who still only had a towel around his waist.

Calum groaned, pillow still on his face. He didn’t want to talk to Mali now because he knew she would tell him to suck it up and something about fate and positivity and the only thing he wanted was to sulk. When his sister nudged him and asked again he realized she would only go after he told her what happened.

“I got the nunber of a hot guy, forgot to save it on my phone and lost it now,” he explained, face still hidden underneath the pillow.

“Aw, bummer,” was the only thing Mali said.

Surprised Calum put the pillow away and asked. “What now?”

“Suck it up.”

**~**

Calum actually doesn’t know how he got into this mess. He did grow up with every family member joking about how his parents would find a perfect girl for him that would suit his social status and maybe even help it a little. And when he came out to his family that he is gay his family started joking that his parents have to throw away all their perfect little plans so far and have to now find a perfect boy for him.

But that was actually it for him. They were always jokes and everyone had always laughed about them and so had Calum, because they were jokes. Apparently not.

Apparently his parents have found a ‘perfect’ boy for him now, and apparently they expected him to woo this boy, win his heart over and marry him. Whether he liked him or not. How was that possible? It was the fucking 21st century and he was living in a country where he had rights. How can his parents arrange a marriage for him? This wasn’t Pakistan or India. He couldn’t believe that was happening, especially right after he met that cute red haired guy, and had lost him instantly but that wasn’t the point.

“At least it is a boy,” Mali Koa had said after his parents had announced to Calum that he had a blind date with the guy next week for lunch.

Calum had laughed, Calum had realized, Calum had protested and Calum had been ignored by his parents. And them Calum of course had left the table, the food on his plate untouched while his father had to go to his appointment with some important businessmen and his mother knew she couldn’t change anything now.

Calum’s parents couldn’t force him to marry that guy - he googled it. He even googled if that right counted for gay sons of rich people, and apparently it does.

So, right now Calum was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling while he was talking to his best friend on the phone, explaining the whole situation. And more than just once, he caught himself staring at his hand, where the cute red haired had written his number on. How could Calum have been so careless with something so precious? He didn’t know.

“And there is literally nothing you can do?” Luke asked from the other end of the phone.

Luke Hemmings, Calum’s best friend, has a funny story. When Calum had introduced him to his parents they thought that they were dating, of which his parents didn’t approve because Luke was a normal teenager with middle class parents. Calum’s parents had tried to get rid of him, repeatedly mentioning in front of the boy that Calum was too good for him. It ended in Luke avoiding Calum, Calum knowing it just had to do something with his parents, him screaming at them and explaining everything Luke. Calum’s parents still didn’t like Luke since Calum could profess his love for him at any minute but Calum didn’t care and taught Luke also not to.

“Well, I can but it will end in my parents disowning me and if I remember correctly they are also paying for my uni, and I just started it, in addition to that a pretty expensive one,” Calum explained.

Luke sighed, not knowing what to do and that part that always envied Calum for all his money and possibilities suddenly was happy about the fact he wasn’t Calum or his brother, that he was a part of a normal middle class family.

“What if you explain your situation to that guy?” Luke suggested. “Maybe he’ll understand.”

“And what if not? What if he starts liking me and the idea of marrying me?”

“Wow, Hood. That doesn’t sound conceited at all,” Luke said, making Calum groan.

“You know what I mean.”

“Then it’s easy, find out what he dislikes and behave just like that. If he refuses to marry you your parents can’t hold you responsible. It’s like punishing the old lady whose purse got stolen, instead of punishing the thief who stole it.”

“Oh God, Hemmings, I love you. Have I ever told you that? That’s why you’re my best friend.”

“Mhm, you have all the advantages from this friendship and all I have is you.”

“You love me,” the older boy said, pushing his excitment aside for a moment.

“If you say so,” the younger one said but Calum could hear the playful tone in his voice.

**~**

Even though Calum had been very excited about Luke’s plan for his blind date, he couldn’t help but think that something terrible was bound to happen. That terrible thing consisting of his blind date, whose name was Michael Clifford, he got to know the next day at breakfast, liking him and Calum being forced to marry him. It was a horrible thought.

So, of course Calum was calling Luke many times that week, even spending two nights at the boy’s house meanwhile trying to convince his parents to not make him go to that date but they stayed adamant. His mother even wanted to take him shopping for a decent outfit for the date but Calum could get out of it somehow. Even Mali tried to help him but it was no use. His parents were always strict when it came to their reputation and social status. Calum’s father had prepared Calum a file about Michael and his family, more about their wealth but yeah, that he was supposed to look at and study. But there was nowhere a picture.

Luke suggested he could google Michael if he wanted to know how he looked but a part of him was telling him not to. It could make things worse. And even though Calum tried to be positive, which he failed at rather horribly, and prayed that Michael turned out to be a rather cool guy at the same time he somehow wished it wouldn’t be like that because it was still an arranged marriage. He always dreamt of finding the one on his own. And what if he thought that Michael was the one and married him but then it turned out that he wasn’t? That the marriage was a huge lie? Somtimes he even daydreamed about how it would turn out that the red haired was Michael. Could someone blame him? He was desperate.

Well, everyone could see that Calum was making himself nuts. Especially on the day of the date. He didn’t go to uni, also keeping Luke from doing so since he felt like he needed his best friend’s company. His parents had been very pushy since the morning, always reminding him of the date and to be at his best behaviour and to not screw it up. Calum wasn’t far away from murdering them.

The date was taking place in a fancy restaurant near the beach. All hopes that Calum had of Michael not being a snob were destroyed. Luke, who was accompanying him to the restaurant, tried to tell him that this actually had a tiny connection with each other. Calum was so giddy that Luke refused to let him drive.

“Should I have bought flowers?” Calum suddenly asked, sounding freaked out.

“No, remember? He has to dislike you,” Luke reminded him.

“Yeah, right.”

Throughout the whole drive Luke tried to distract Calum by having a conversation with him, but Calum only gave short answers so that turned out to be impossible. He couldn’t fully understand his friend, never being in that situation made it hard for him, but he could understand that Calum was nervous. They arrived at their destination rather fast, Calum taking in a sharp breath. The lost look he gave his friend, made him hug Calum for longer than usually.

“It’s going to be okay,” Luke assured his friend and let go of him.

With a last look towards Luke, Calum turned towards the restaurant and entered it. He looked down on himself and wondered if he was too casually dressed for the restaurant. His black skinny jeans is what he wears usually but not his white button up shirt and dark blazer. Upon naming his own name and Michael’s last name on the small counter, he was brought to a table outside and saw that there was already someone seated. Calum halted, taking in the boy sitting at the table, who was staring at the beach and the first thought he had was that the boy didn’t look like a Michael. His sandly blonde hair and tanned skin just didn’t fit the name.

Just as Calum was thinking about why his parents named the boy Michael, the boy looked up and Calum’s heart skipped a beat when the two made eye contact. Calum didn’t know what to do and was frozen in place. He felt himself panic almost as he watched Michael smile at him and wave. That surprised Calum and he moved finally, his first step hesitant but the next ones firmer until he was stood at the table in front of the boy.

“You must be Calum,” the boy spoke up and extended a hand towards Calum as he stood up.

“Yeah,” Calum breathed and shook Michael’s hand. It still felt weird to call him that.

“I’m uh…Michael.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Michael smiled at him again, Calum just now noticing those cute dimples, and walked over to Calum and pulled the chair back for him just like a gentleman. Calum mumbled a small thanks and sat down, trying not feel as lost as he did right now. Michael took his place in front of him again and automatically Calum looked at his palm, a move he did a lot recently.

“Are you alright, Calum? You seem a little bit distant,” Michael asked, surprising him.

“Yeah, this just feels a little weird.”

“Relax. I’m not going to eat you,” Michael said and then giggled. Calum couldn’t believe that Michael just giggled but it sounded cute and brought a smile on Calum’s face too.

Besides the fact that Calum thought that the name still didn’t fit the boy in front of him, he did find Michael beautiful. It was the glimmer in his hazel eyes, the dimples in his smile, the tanned skin and the cute giggle that made Michael very attractive. Furthermore, he seemed to have a similar clothing style to Calum’s, wearing skinny jeans, a shirt that was ripped at some places and a blazer.

But there was also the side of him that didn’t like video games - who doesn’t like fifa? - and that Michael was a little too responsible in Calum’s opinion. Calum knows how it was to feel responsible for someone, he always does with Luke who was younger than him and insecure, but he also messed with the younger and enjoyed being carefree. The one thing he was looking for in his parter was him being his partner in crime. Michael wasn’t that.

Calum’s thoughts switched to the red haired again, like all the other times since he met him, and he couldn’t help but think that he would be a great partner in crime. And even though Michael was beautiful he prefered the red haired whose hair colour was a sharp contrast to his pale skin, and Calum thought about how he would suck hickeys into it and how good they would look. His thoughts were interrupted by Michael and a waiter.

“What would you like?” Michael asked and Calum suddenly got aware that he zoned out while he stared at the menu.

“Do you have lasagna?” he asked because he didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t looking at the menu the whole time.

The waiter took their orders and disappeared, leaving Michael and Calum alone together.

“I like the blonde streak in your hair,” Michael spoke up, and automatically Calum looked up at his hair that was laying falt on his forehead.

“Thanks.”

“So, tell me a little about yourself.”

Shit, Calum thought and asked. “What do you wanna know?”

“What things you like besides playing fifa and dyeing your hair.”

“I like pizza,” Calum answered and Michael laughed at that. “Who doesn’t?”

Calum smiled and continued. “And I like-” Calum wanted to name some of his favourite bands when he remembered how Luke said that he should make Michael dislike him. “I like country music.”

The smile on Michael’s face disappeared and his eyebrows furrowed together. “You like country music?”

“Yeah, I love it and I feel like my partner has to love it too. My alarm is a country song and the ringtone of my phone too. I have a special song for the ringtone for my partner.”

It seemed as if Michael was trying his hardest to not pull a weirded out face. He looked at Calum and tried to follow his words.

“And - do you like tattoos?” Calum asked before he continued, to which Ashton nodded. “Oh, I actually dislike them. I see them as way of ruining your body and not art as some people like to claim.”

Calum tried to list a lot of things that would make Michael dislike him and so far he thought everything was going well. He also asked Michael to tell him something about himself and everytime he mentioned something he liked Calum made sure to interrupt him and tell him how much he disliked it.

The date ended around two hours later and Calum could tell that Michael didn’t end up liking him. He was still very polite and friendly towards Calum, almost that much that Calum was tempted to tell him that everything was a lie and he’d like to have a real chance, but then the red haired would pop up in his mind and he didn’t.

Michael and Calum bid their goodbyes, Calum choosing to take the bus home instead of calling Luke, and was happy about how the date went. Luke slept over at his and Calum told him everything about how successful the date went, well after Calum’s definition of successful in this case. The next day he woke up happy and behaved so giddy that Mali looked at him weirdly, his parents rather ignoring his behaviour and only asking how the date went. Of course he said good. Calum wasn’t even that sad about the fact that he didn’t know how to contact the red haired.

That was why he was even more surprised when his father informed him that he got a call from Michael two days after the date, who wanted to meet him again. Everything went down since then. His parents believed that he had messed it up and were suspicious but very happy when they got the call. When Calum’s dad told him that, he immediately went up to his room and called Luke. It was his first instinct. Neither he nor Luke knew what to do. Both were at a loss for words.

“I thought you did everything to make him dislike you,” Luke said.

“I did. Do you really think I didn’t?”

“I don’t know, Calum. But what now?” Luke asked and he sounded even more stressed out than Calum.

“I guess going with your first plan. Telling Michael everything and hoping he understands.”

Luke sighed and tried to reassure his friend that everything was going to be okay, while the friend was once again looking at his palm.

**~**

The next time Calum was supposed to meet Michael was at a formal meet up of his dad’s business friends, and Calum felt trapped. He knew his parents would have boths eyes on him and he felt like he would be pressured into things he didn’t want to do. He always found it hard to deny his parents things.

Somehow he convinced his parents to let Luke come too, his parents denying at first but when Calum threatened not to come they gave in. Luke gave him a feeling of reassurance, he felt secure with him being around. It was a good thing that Calum didn’t have to do much for uni otherwise he was sure he would fail the semester with the things going around right now.

This time Calum only had to wait for three days and he didn’t know if that was better or worse. He had less time for mental preparation, which was useless since he could never be prepared for these things, but also less time to freak out and go nuts.

Between going to uni, avoiding the topic Michael at all costs, which also meant avoiding his mum, and having Luke around Calum couldn’t even register how the days went by. Before he knew it it was the day, for the second time now. This time the day started with Calum laying in his bed, not wanting to get up, whining to Luke over texts how much he needed cuddles right now but had to be content with his pillows and sending a small prayer to God that his plan would work out. He knew it was stupid to think that much about the red haired and he admitted he didn’t think of the red haired as the one but Michael made him realize what he didn’t want, and Michael wasn’t it.

After laying in his bed for over an hour and ignoring his mum for a half one, he knew he couldn’t stall anymore since he was one of the hosts for the party, somehow. So he got up because he knew he was going to take his time with everything, like with his shower and getting an outfit and putting it on, and went downstairs where his family was waiting for him. They went together to the party being the first ones, which was not surprising, and Mali gave Calum a hug because she could feel his nervousness.

“If you need my help, I’m great at sabotaging,” she whispered in his ear, and although it was said in a playful tone, a playful smirk on her lips, Calum just knew she meant it and felt even more reassured with having his sister on his side.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he mumbled back as he hugged her back a little tighter, trying to get strength out of it.

It didn’t take long for Calum’s father to call him and introduce him to an elder couple, which were Michael’s parents. As Calum was staring at them he tried to find similarities between them and Michael and found it hard, wondering if Michael was adopted. And then realization hit him when Daryl said that Michael had to be around here somewhere.

Calum excused himself, lying that he would go and find Michael but went to the entrance instead where Luke had just entered. Luke immediately engulfed Calum in his arms, ignoring the stares they were getting from some people and Calum’s parents. He hugged Calum for as long as Calum wanted to and knew Calum didn’t want to break the hug when he lingered on him as he took a step back.

“You okay?” Luke asked to which Calum only nodded.

Calum lead Luke to the terrace with drinks in their hands, that Calum was just stirring the small parasol in, and let Luke’s presence console him. Luke put an arm around Calum’s shoulder and pulled him into his side. The two of them where also in that position when someone called Calum and that someone turned out to be Michael. Luke felt Calum tense under his arm and looked at the boy in front of him through narrowed eyes.

“Hey, Calum,” Michael said chirpily and smiled.

“Hey,” Calum mumbled back.

After that Michael’s attention turned to Luke and he greeted him with the same chirpy hey from before and Luke only responded with a nod.

“I was looking for you everywhere,” Michael said, directed at Calum and took him by surprise.

“Really?” Calum asked and Michael nodded. This had Calum panic a little and he pressed his drink into Luke’s free hand, excusing himself.

He went to the bathroom, not caring that he left Luke with his blind date, and splashed some cold water into his face. After drying his face he leaned against the wall, burying his face into his hands. Calum stayed in that position, even after he heard someone coming in. He just didn’t know how to face Michael and be with him when he couldn’t even handle a minute with him.

“You alright there?”

Calum was surprised that the person who had entered the bathroom spoke to him since he thought the person would be too weirded out by his peculiar behaviour, but as he went to answer he halted by the familiarity of the voice. He raised his face with his hands still on it, peeking through his fingers to look at the boy who spoke up.

For a moment Calum thought he was hallucinating while the boy in front of him was smiling at him. Then he let let his hands fall loosely to his side as he gaped at the red haired. For a moment Calum was tempted to poke the red haired to reassure himself that he in fact was standing there but refrained himself because he didn’t feel like he could face reality if he wasn’t.

“I was actually waiting for a call or a message, you know?” the red haired spoke up, and Calum could feel his heart drop to his feet. Like in those moments where you are riding a roller coaster and the waggon is at the peak of the ride and suddenly it goes downwards and everyones hearts fall. Just like that.

“Are you not going to answer?” the red haired asked, voice soft as if he didn’t dare to ruin the mood, and Calum just hugged him.

Calum didn’t know why this was the first thing that came to his mind but he didn’t know what else to do. He felt so lost these past days, almost always being on the verge of crying when he went to sleep and never allowing himself to do so. He seeked a lot of comfort, what he didn’t get enough of.

To his surprise and relief, the red haired slung his arms around Calum’s middle, and he could hear the smile in his voice when he asked. “What do I owe that to?”

Calum didn’t speak up for a while and only did so when he stepped back, his cuddly side protesting at that. “I lost your number otherwise I would have called you.”

“I knew there was a valid reason for you not calling.”

Calum smiled at that and leaned against the wall again.

“Wanna get back out there?”

“Not really,” Calum answered.

“Then wanna get out of here? I’m not a really a fan of the beach but also not of these snob parties, and my friend Ashton told me the beach is quite cool. So?”

“Yeah. I would love to but we aren’t allowed to be seen by my parents.”

“Sneaking around is my speciality,” the red haired said and took Calum’s hand in his own, which reminded the latter of how they met.

Sneaking away this time was a lot easier than the last one. There were a lot more people to hide behind and no one that was actively holding an eye out for one of them. As Calum exited through a back door that led to the beach, Luke saw him. The surprise was written all over his face but he made no attempt to find out where Calum was going. Luke’s distractedness also made Michael look into their direction. For a moment Calum thought he would be mad or follow him but he simply turned back to Luke and seemed to pick up their conversation where it was interrupted.

And Calum, well, he just followed the red haired outside and as he went to ask him where exactly they were going he realized how peculiar this situation was. He was basically following a stranger, he didn’t even know the name of, blindly. He put his trust into him just like that. It didn’t take long for them to find a secluded and shadowy part of the beach where they decided to sit. Calum layed on his back and stared at the sky, red haired noticing the thickness in the air. No one knew what to say and what not, behaving friendly felt wrong and starting the get to know small talk too.

“What’s going on?” the red haired asked and nudged Calum.

“Can I trust you with something?” Calum asked but started before the red haired could even nod. “There is this one guy, Michael Clifford, some son of a rich CEO, and my parents want me to marry him but I don’t want to. I’ve met him and he’s a cute guy and all, and I sabotaged our date on purpose so he would dislike me and tell my parents that he doesn’t want to marry me since that would mean a lot less trouble for me, but he still wants to meet up and he’s at the party and yeah.”

“Wow! Sounds a little fucked up. Why won’t you just marry him?”

“Well, one of the reasons is sitting in front of me,” Calum admitted, not paying any attention to the heat rising up his cheeks, and a smile made its way on the red haired’s lips. “And other reasons are totally normal, like I don’t love him, I don’t know him, he’s not my type.”

Calum looked up to the red haired while he smiled down at him, and he waited patiently for him to say something. Instead the red haired hovered over Calum, his breath hitching, and looked him deep into his eyes. Just now Calum could see that red haired’s eye colour was green, a green so intense it was a stronger contrast to his hair than his skin, and his lips seemed to be matching his hair colour, the red of them making his plump lips seem more inviting. Calum was silent for a moment while red haired let his eyes wander all over his face, Calum feelings his cheeks reddening more and more, and then the red haired’s lips broke out into a small smirk.

“You want ice cream?”

The question caught Calum off guard because he expected him to touch his face, preferably his lips with his own, but not this question. It took him a while but he ended up nodding, allowing the red haired to help him up. Both off them walked to the ice stand they had seen on their way and red haired bought them ice cream. Then they walked along the beach in silence for a while when the red haired spoke up again.

“How do you want your life partner to be?”

“Well, I prefer knowing their name,” Calum joked, successfully making the red haired smile.

“Call me Mikey.”

“Calum. And I don’t know. I feel like they have to be carefree. I want someone who can be serious but also is like my partner in crime. I want to be able to cry on his shoulder and swing on the swingset on a playground. I want to wake up and wonder how I could end up with such a dork but have him think that way too. And…and, I don’t know. Haven’t thought about it that much.”

“But enough to know what you don’t want,” Mikey concluded and Calum nodded.

“What were you doing on that party?” Calum asked after a while, suddenly remembering where they came from.

“You know, my parents were invited and I had to come too. My mum wants me to socialize more and dad wants me to get to know my future partners,” Mikey explained.

Calum took a moment to inspect Mikey’s leather jacket, white shirt and black skinny jeans, whichd didn’t seem formal at all but suited him well. All in all with his dyed hair and the piercings Mikey had, he didn’t seem like a son of a businessman who would probably follow his father steps.

“So, inheriting dad’s business and all.”

“Just like you.”

“I wouldn’t be that sure about that. Maybe my sister is.”

“Bummer, I was interested in having you as a partner,” Mikey said with a cocky wink following afterwards.

Calum had to inhale sharply at that and bit his bottom lip, wondering what exactly was happening right now and if he could start something with someone he liked while Michael was waiting for him to return.

Both of them turned their attention to their ice creams in their hands again, and walked until they were back at their secluded spot. It didn’t take long for Mikey to strip from his leather jacket and shirt, soon unzipping his pants while Calum was staring at him wide eyed, not really minding what was happening right mow but also wanting to know what was.

“I didn’t go for a swim in a long time,” Mikey explained when he noticed Calum’s bewildered look.

Calum nodded and watched Mikey get rid off his pants, trying to shake off the thoughts he was getting, when Mikey started walking towards the sea and said. “You gonna make me swim alone?”

Calum didn’t need to be told twice and started stripping his clothes off too, following Michael. The water was cold and he needed a while to get used to it, only being in it in knee length. Mikey seemed to have other plans and started splashing water at Calum and that of course was a challenge he just had to accept. It ended with Mikey tackling Calum into the water and both of them wrestled for a while, trying not get water into their lungs as both of them were laughing and trying to best the other.

Mikey was the first to surrender and pushed Calum off of him to get to his feet but still standing close to him. Again Mikey offered a hand to help Calum up and pressed Calum close to himself when he accepted it. Their breaths mixed to one and Calum was sure he was breathing in the air Mikey was breathing out and he didn’t want to change that.

He relished in the feeling of Mikey’s arms around his waist and the warmth he was radiating off, bringing Mikey closer to himself by his shoulders.

“Just trust me with this yeah?” Mikey breathed and Calum nodded.

Mikey removed his arms from around Calum’s waist and lead them to his cheeks, cupping them softly. Calum waited patiently for Mikey to be finished with letting his eyes explore Calum’s features and pulled him a little closer by his waist to tell him that he was ready. Mikey smiled at that, tilting Calum’s head a little but also his own and before he pressed his lips to Calum’s he let them ghost over them for a second, enjoying the anticipation.

But then even he couldn’t wait any longer and finally his lips where on Calum’s. Mikey waited for a second before he moved his lips against Calum’s and he could taste the ocean on them, never before has he liked it that much. The kiss turned more heated the more seconds went by, Calum forgetting all the stress from the past days. The kiss was the only thing he wanted to think of in that moment. Mikey bit on his bottom lip, a throaty moan slipping past his lips and he felt Mikey smirk against them.

“Kinky, I like that,” Mikey panted, his lips still on Calum’s because he didn’t want it to end yet, and neither did Calum.

Instead of answering, Calum pressed his lips more eagerly to Mikey’s and let his tongue slip past his lips. Mikey let his tongue meet Calum’s but also let Calum’s tongue his room so he could do whatever he wanted. Just as Calum felt like he would pass out from the lack of oxygen, Mikey pulled back but let his hands where they were, and he let him. Even though he wanted more and every fiber of his being screamed at him to pull Mikey back and kiss him again, and to take more this time.

Calum pulled Mikey in for a small peck against his lips, then just let Mikey lead him out of the water where their clothes. Calum had never acting the way he was now but he couldn’t help it. He was putty in Mikey’s hands and knew he would do more than he was willing to admit to have this boy. That boy sat on the sand, motioning for Calum to sit between his legs, and Calum chose to ignore how uncomfortable it would get on the sand and sat down. He let Mikey wrap his arms around him and leaned against his chest.

Calum didn’t know how late it was but he hoped whatever this was wouldn’t end soon. It had just started and he didn’t want to go back to his old worries and problems. He felt Mikey’s warm breath over his neck and shoulder and closed his eyes, feeling tired suddenly. What woke him up were Mikey’s lips that planted chaste kisses over shoulder and he sighed contently.

“We have to get back.”

Calum opened his eyes, moving around in Mikey’s arms to face him and let himself be amazed with how beautiful he looked from this close. “Do we?”

Mikey smiled amused, Calum settling back into his previous position. “Someone’s waiting for you there, isn’t he?”

This stung a little in Calum’s heart, and he didn’t want to sound as betrayed when as he did he spoke up but he had no control over it. “After all we are going to get married.”

“That’s what I was saying.”

Calum didn’t even know why he expected Mikey to say something else, maybe, definitely, because they had kissed, and got to his feet grumpily, putting on his clothes. Mikey just let him and watched him with an amused smile, doing what he was doing. Calum didn’t wait for Mikey to finish getting his clothes on and walked off to the party.

Mikey caugh up to him, but still walking behind him a little. A huge part of Calum wanted to turn around and take Mikey’s hand in his, to walk back with him but another part didn’t want to let that happen. Calum understood both sides, of course. It was him who was having that debate after all. Het let it up to Mikey to catch up to him and talk to him. But none of it happened.

Even after they got back to the party and Calum went to find Luke. Even after he found Luke and tried to ask Calum about everything and he refused to answer, Mikey didn’t approach him. It was confusing and frustrating but at least Michael was gone now. Luke also told him that his parents were somewhat furious because he went away, something Calum didn’t want to bother himself with. His mind was occupied by a sweet red haired named Mikey.

It was when the party almost ended that Mikey approached Calum, whispering into his ear. “I’ll call you.” After that he immediately left, Calum having no chance to respond or protest.

**~**

Calum invited Luke to a sleepover at his after the party because he knew he wouldn’t want to be alone. What he didn’t take into consideration was Luke bugging him about everything that happened. Calum wanted to tell him, after all Luke was his best friend but he also didn’t want to. Everything was getting a little too much and when Calum told Luke that and asked to just cuddle him, Luke let it be and did as told.

Calum’s parents didn’t bug him about anything that night, not even the next day. In fact they seemed rather happy even though Luke was there. Calum didn’t want to test his luck so he got out of his home rather fast and went to uni, a certain red haired still occupying his mind and him.

Calum didn’t allow himself to think about anything that had happened last night but when he was sitting on his place and trying to listen to what the professor was saying it turned out to be impossible. It went on like this for the rest of the day until he spilled everything to Luke in their free period. Everything was just too confusing for Calum. He wanted to know what Mikey meant with calling although he didn’t have Calum’s number and why he ignored him at the party.

Luke tried to cheer up his friend but didn’t know how to. He had never experienced something like that so he made sure to hug Calum a lot, tell him that he loved him and that he would always be there for him.

A call came. But not from Mikey. It was from Michael. Calum’s father told him that three days after the party at breakfast. Michael invited Calum over to his office and even asked specifically for Luke. That was confusing for everyone who heard that but apparently Luke had a small idea of why that was happening.

Luke denied the offer at first, not wanting to see the outcome, but after Calum had given him his puppy eyes and had reminded him of his promise that he would always help Calum he gave in. They had to be there at four in the afternon and apparently a chaffeur was getting them.

“And there I thought I could just ignore Michael,” Calum said, unafraid of the driver hearing him.

“Just tell him today what you wanted to tell him the other day. So that we can finally close this chapter without any of us seeing him again,” Luke responded, his gaze fixed out of the window on all the tall buildings.

“What happened between you two at the party?” Calum had never thought about how maybe something had went down between his best friend and Michael at the party but Luke’s statement left him curious.

“Nothing,” the younger one retorted, not bothering with anything else.

The car halted in front of a building that was famous for its reputation. Small businesses had nothing to do here. There were only offices of huge industries.

Apparently Michael made sure to tell everyone that Calum and Luke were coming, a woman in formal attire welcoming them and escorting them to almost the highest floor on the building, Calum and Luke following her quietly. Luke was looking around curiously, his gaze never fixed on anything for too long because something else always caught his attention. Even Calum who was rather used to the business atmosphere, offices and people let his gaze wander around. This was a couple steps higher than what he ever saw personally. Now he did understand why his parents wanted to hook him up with the son of the CEO. He was the heir of all of this after all.

No one paid any attention to Luke and Calum, being too occupied by their work to notice the two unusual dressed teenagers given their surrounding, and Luke wondered what exactly they were doing that they were that busy. Just now he wondered how someone could need that many people to work for them.

The floor Luke and Calum were on after exiting the elevator was different from the rest of what they saw. On this floor were a lot less people, offices were bigger and there was a secretary outside of every office, having their own table and phone and whatever secretaries need. The woman, who had welcomed them, lead them to the biggest office on this floor, knocked on the door and announced their arrival, turning to them when she was finished.

“Mr. Clifford will be soon here to accompany. For the remaining time you two can wait inside,” she said, and let them in, taking a seat on her chair outside of the office.

Luke entered first, Calum following him while he was looking around the room, and suddenly he walked into Luke’s back, stumbling a little bit. He looked at Luke weirdly, in time noticing the third presence in the room, which left him confused. In front of them was a smiling Michael in black skinny jeans and a sweater, leaning against the huge desk.

The weirdest thing was that Luke and Michael were so focused on each other, Calum felt as if he wasn’t even existing, let alone being in a room with the two. While Luke was staring Michael down, the smile on Michael’s face never faltered.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave Calum alone?” Luke spoke up, eyes narrowed.

“You did but you meant Michael,” Michael said, making Luke scoff and Calum even more confused. But before any of the two could say anything, Michael got to his feet and extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Ashton Irwin.”

Luke eyed “Ashton’s” hand suspiciously, Calum not even daring to make a single noise for some seconds but when he realized that no one of the other two was going to say something he blurted out. “What’s going on here?”

Suddenly the door opened and everyone turned their attention to it, watching a red haired boy enter the room.

“Mikey?” Calum squeaked, sounding disbelieving.

“Oh I see you have introduced yourself already Ashton,” Mikey said, his usual smirk on his lips.

“Somehow,” Ashton responded, letting his hand fall to his side.

“What is going on?” Calum asked and, finally, Mikey looked at him, the smirk on his face turning to a fond smile.

“Calum,” was the only thing he said.

“Are you also going to explain?”

“I… I’m Michael Clifford.” The red haired admitted it was blunt and given the confusion in the circumstance they were in, it wasn’t enough at all but it was the most important information.

Calum started laughing, sounding hysterical, while Luke looked confused as Ashton had a perfect poker face, his eyes trained on Luke. When Calum noticed that everyone else was too serious and that Mikey most probably meant that statement seriously, he stopped laughing and groaned loudly.

“Explain,” he almost screamed, suddenly angry. How couldn’t he be? He apparently met Michael Clifford and liked him before his parents wanted to hook them up, then he met a certain Ashton Irwin, who had claimed to be Michael and when he met Michael again he seemed to know what was going on but chose not to tell Calum. And now everything was getting too much at once for Calum.

“I think the two of us should leave them alone considering this conversation is going to be a little private,” Ashton spoke up, speaking to Luke.

“Is that okay with you?” Luke asked, not wanting to leave his best friend alone in this mess but he had to admit that Ashton had a point.

After a look towards Michael, who looked nothing else but friendly and trustable, Calum nodded, and Luke followed Ashton outside. Even after the door was closed for seconds, Calum had his gaze still fixed on it. He noticed he was delaying the moment he had to face the truth and so Michael, so he turned around and faced him.

Michael went over to the couch and patted the spot next to him. Calum went over but chosing the seat opposite of Michael and not next to him.

“I think I should just start at the beginning,” Michael said cautiously. “When we met the first time in that uni, I didn’t know who you were and also had never seen or heard of you before. I really did wait for days for you to call or message me. I had given up all hopes of you calling me and was preparing myself to go to stupid World Of Warcraft meet up with internet friends when one day my mum tells me that I have to go to a blind date with a certain Calum Hood.

She never tried to set me up with someone before but was always concerned about me since I loved to lock myself into my room and be alone. Being the only child only making me do that more. So I guess my mum is afraid of me ending up alone and bitter while having all that weight of the business on me, and that’s why she organized that blind date. But I really wanted to go to that meet up and one part of me hadn’t fully given up on you calling me, so I asked my best friend Ashton to go on my behalf and pretend to be me, which he did.

When I asked Ashton about how the blind date went, he told me everything, told me how the two of us wouldn’t fit at all and then he mentioned your blonde streaks and how weird he thought it was that you looked asian but weren’t. That made me think of you and I called your dad so I, the real Michael Clifford, could meet you again. And you don’t know how happy I was when I hundred percent knew it was you. It just had to be fate, Calum.”

And Calum didn’t know what it was, maybe the hope in Michael’s eyes or the sound of his voice or how he made their story sound, so romantic and important and _beautiful_ , but it left him wanting more, wanting Michael to never stop talking if he was always going to talk about Calum _like that_.

“I wanted to tell you the truth, Calum,” Michael continued, and Calum decided his name rolling off of Michael’s tongue that way that made his name sound so _beautiful_ and _special_ was his new favourite sound. “I really wanted to when we met the other day but then you told me about all of that stuff you were looking for in a partner and I got afraid, afraid of not being enough, of disappointing you. I just needed some time to think and while I was sure that I would be out of your life the other day I just couldn’t do that. I couldn’t make that decision for the two of us because you have a say in that too but also because I don’t want that, Calum.  I want you to forgive me and give us a fair chance.”

Now there was even more to take in and Calum couldn’t even handle the stuff from before, especially everything now. He was silent for a while, too shocked to think and too busy with watching Michael to do so. He wanted to speak up, he really did, but it seemed to be impossible while he was looking into Michael’s eyes and everything in him was screaming to give them this chance Michael was asking for.

Calum exhaled sharply while Michael was watching him carefully, expectantly. He didn’t know why he suddenly was unable to move, maybe it was the realization that Michael was the one his parents want him to marry but also the one he likes.

“I don’t know if I am everything that you want, like you told me the other day, but I sure as hell can try,” Michael whispered, reassurance and a promise in his tone. Calum didn’t need more.

“Okay,” he whsipered back, afraid he might ruin the magic in the air if he spoke up too loudly.

A smile made its way on Michael’s lips and he stearted beaming, suddenly becoming too anxious to just sit and do nothing. Did that mean he could kiss Calum now? Or hold his hand for now? Michael didn’t know and found it hard to do nothing after this new happy information so he wiped his now sweaty hands on his jeans.

Even Calum was unsure of what to do now. He had admitted to his crush that he was okay with dating him, actually he was more than just okay with that, and didn’t know if he was supposed to ask Michael out. So he took out his phone from his pocket, putting it in front of Michael on the table, and said. “This time you should put your number on here, so I won’t lose it again.”

Michael smirked, picking up Calum’s phone and said. “I can’t believe you lost my number and made me wait for days.”

“Well, I’m not that easy Clifford.” This time Calum smirked back, and Michael decided to get to know naughty Calum a little better. He bet Calum had a lot of dirty little secrets.

“You wanna see what I do on my dad’s laptop when he’s not here?” Michael asked, a cheeky tone to his voice.

“You bet I do,” Calum said, following Michael to his dad’s desk. “Wait, what about Luke? I can’t leave him alone.”

“Oh shush, he is with Ashton. You know as much as I do he couldn’t be in greater hands. Now sit still.”

Michael positioned Calum onto his lap in a way he was still able to do on the laptop whatever he wanted to, and maybe also pressed his lips accidentally to Calum’s shoulder here and there.

**~**

Over the course of a couple days Calum and Michael learned a lot about each other. One of those things was that Michael was going to major in business because his father didn’t want to let him get his hands on his business until Michael didn’t know everything. It always took Calum by surprise to see Michael get all businessy and it never failed to amaze him how good Michael was at what he was doing.

Calum’s parents were happy with how Calum’s relationship with Michael went and although Calum didn’t care about their opinion he did use their satisfaction to his advantage, always asking his parents if he could go with Michael on trips or sleepover at his.

Whereas Michael fully prepared himself to be the heir his father wanted him to be and his business needed him to be, Calum noticed his disinterest in all of that stuff. The only thing that had to do with business and caught his interest was Michael. But Michael still made sure to have a contract with Mali who was in charge of the family business, and probably handled it better than Calum.

After Calum graduated a year later than Michael, Michael proposed to him in the same corridor of his uni where they had met. Of course it was a yes from Calum.

But marriage wasn’t what either of them wanted yet, Calum focused on his idea of opening a small music store with various instruments but mainly guitars. It was a hard task and with only a small check from his parents it was actually bound to fail. Michael offered a lot investment, the money for it only laying around him, but Calum refused to accept Michael’s money.

One of the reasons being their fighting. The two weren’t nearly the perfect couple they wanted to be, fighting a lot, the make up, which always involved sex, the best part of it. But Calum didn’t want to depend too much on Michael. Even though he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Michael, he also couldn’t deny the fact that sometimes Michael wouldn’t talk to him for days after a fight, being the stubborn man that he is.

It was hard but in the end Calum made it, the stress that went away with it, making their relationship a little easier. And while Calum led his own shop Michael worked next to his father, learning from him exclusively before he could get his own hands on bigger contracts. The two of them visited each other a lot when they had work.

Just like now, Calum was waiting for Luke to appear so he could leave to meet Michael, who was in a meeting currently.

Luke and Ashton’s story also went on like Calum’s and Michael’s but a lot slower and in a total different way. Calum always stayed updated but never pushed Luke about it.

The doorbell rang, and Calum smiled as he saw Luke enter. “Finally,” he said.

“Not my fault you always need me to take care of your shop. I also have my own responsibilities,” Luke said.

“You know I only trust you with my baby. Bye.”

Calum exited the shop, entering the car he got as a birthday present from Michael so he could always drive over to his and didn’t need to take the bus. It was only a half hour drive.

Calum entered the buliding where Michael’s office was just like he did for the first time a couple years ago, but this time without someone leading the way and a couple of people, who knew who he was, greeted him. It was very familiar to Calum.

Calum went straight for Michael’s office, greeting his secretary and not knocking before he opened the door, and there Michael was, in a suit. It still felt weird to see Michael in one but he had to wear that for meetings. His father barely allowing him his dyed hair, which was blue now.

Michael smiled when he saw Calum enter and immediately pressed his lips to Calum’s when he was close enough, pushing him back to his desk and seated him upon it. Michael stood between Calum’s legs, just kissing him for a couple seconds. When he felt like it was enough he pulled back and put his forehead on Calum’s, whose eyes were shining.

“Meetings are so draining,” Michael mumbled, almost whining. “I know what could cheer me up.”

Calum swatted his chest at that. “You know what happened the last time when we got naughty in here. Your dad walked in on us.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“Hmm, lets go eat lunch. I’m hungry and we could also celebrate your success,” Calum suggested.

“I didn’t even tell you how the meeting went.”

“Yeah but you don’t neeed to do that. I know how great my fiance is at what he is doing, and that he got that contract very easily.”

Michael pressed his lips to Calum’s when he mumbled aginst his lips. “I’m not only good in a meeting room.”

Calum laughed but pushed Michael off of him, taking his hand and pulling him to the door. “Come on. Then we could also talk about the wedding preparations.”

It was the first time Calum suggested that, on other occasions Michael always being the one and Calum claiming he wasn’t ready yet. So of course Michael beamed at the idea and said how Luke and Ashton would be their best men, and that maybe then finally something would happen between them.

And while Calum watched as Michael got all excited and told him about all the plans he had in mind, he wondered why he waited for so long in the first place, and was sure he didn’t want to anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Here my tumblr if you want to do whatever you want to on tumblr http://oneletterandathousandwords.tumblr.com/


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